E13 — How Extractive Institutions Cause Nations to Fail

In this pivotal episode of Why Nations Fail — A Deep Dive into Acemoglu & Robinson’s Theory, we explore how extractive institutions are the root cause of national failure. Through compelling case studies from Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Guatemala, Argentina, Colombia, Uzbekistan, and Egypt, we examine how elites use these institutions to entrench their power and wealth at the expense of the broader population. From state collapse and civil conflict to economic stagnation and extreme inequality, this episode illustrates the many faces of institutional failure across continents and regimes. These aren't random occurrences — they are the predictable outcomes of systems designed to exclude